Danza!: Amalia Hernández and El Ballet Folklórico de México

In 1952, after rehearsing for months, Ami and other dancers gave a performance. They presented many different dances, but the one the audience clapped for the most was a piece called Sones de Michoacán.
Ami was the choreographer, and the dance was similar to the regional danza that she had seen in the town square when she was a little girl.
Ami had an idea! She decided that she would create ballets based on the folkloric danzas from the different regions of Mexico. She was so excited that she formed her own company with seven other dancers.
Ami began to travel to villages all around the country to learn as much as she could about the area’s traditional dances. She read about the history
of each place and talked with elders. When possible, she participated in the danzas herself. She paid special attention to the steps, the music, and the outfits the people wore.
After returning home, Ami would go to the dance studio. The danzas y bailes she saw in the villages were for ceremonial purposes, like celebrating a patron saint or hoping for a good harvest. Other times, the dances happened so people could have fun and meet new friends.
However, the dance pieces Ami was creating were meant to be performances, for audiences to watch in a theater. Ami used her skills as choreographer and her knowledge of both ballet and modern dance to make the pieces innovative and beautiful. She made sure the dancers wore dazzling costumes, and that there was dramatic lighting and spectacular backdrops.
Audiences loved the folkloric ballets, and Amalia’s dance company quickly became very famous. In 1954, they performed on the Función de Gala television
show. They danced on the show every week for more than sixty weeks! The company grew to include twenty dancers, and then fifty.